Bruges Group Blog

Our new First Lord of the Treasury, Andy Burnham, became the latest in a rapidly growing line of Prime Ministers which, these days, they are coming and going more frequently than the 39 bus service! He was voted into power by just 24,927 voters in the Makerfield constituency who represent just a tiny fraction of the total electorate for the whole o...

During my time in UKIP, one of my duties was as the Chairman of my local branch in Walsall, one of our members, living locally, was, at the time, from New Zealand and was living in the town. He has since returned to his antipodean home and these days we keep in touch by e-mail. He is quite an active and very likeable character and often includes se...

The title of this article makes it sound like the anguished lament of a dipsomaniac. However, as all will testify, as we travel around the country we see it littered with boarded up and closed pubs that will never reopen. Some will be, or have already been demolished while others, empty and forlorn, await their fate. Some will be converted for othe...

Prime Minister Question Time in Parliament these days is now little more than a farcical show which few, in reality, can take seriously. Like much damage done to the UK, our democracy, traditions and way of life, the blame for the dumbing down of PMQ's lands at the meddling hands of Tony Blair who was the Prime Minister who did immense damage to th...

This week we have seen our supposed apolitical police force abandon the pretence of being an unbiased organisation, treating everyone equally in the name of law and order, and witnessed a young man, dying of wounds inflicted by a lying criminal, being arrested and handcuffed by officers whose minds have been so corrupted by the brainwashing, to whi...

 What is it about Nigel Farage that makes people fall out with him yet at the same time he never seems to fall out with them? I first met Nigel in in 1999 as a member of the newly introduced UKIP Regional Committees, when serving on the West Midlands Regional Committee and we were given the job of preparing for UKIP's very first two day confer...

 A brutal murder has taken place, the victim lies dead, bloodied, bruised and bludgeoned over many years of continual abuse eventually succumbing. So who shall solve this horrible crime? However, it does not need the likes of Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells, nor the forensic investigation of Sherlock Holmes or the thoughtful considera...

Britain relies on oil and gas for around three-quarters of our energy – a level that has hardly changed in decades. We will be relying on oil and gas over the coming decades, as the Climate Change Committee itself acknowledges. Responding to the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) 2023 Annual Progress Report to Parliament - GOV.UK Our own oil and gas ...

As a lad I would often hear people blame the Jews for many things, being young I did not question this. At the age of fifteen I left school and began a two year City & Guilds gents hairdressing course at my local technical college, where, once again I began to hear negative comments and not very clever jokes about Jews. Again I never really que...

 Thanks to the current dire financial state of the UK, caused by the usual failure of a socialist government to understand basic economics, coupled with their usual idiotic ideology, we once again hear the siren voices of those who never accepted the result of the 2016 referendum, and are now calling for the country to rejoin the EU. Clearly t...

 It is sad to say that many people, especially the young and gullible, take in and believe all the guff endlessly spewed out about global warming and the impossibility of net zero, especially on the BBC. Sadly, those who get taken in by this nonsense who then think they are doing the right thing by voting for the Green Party, don't seem to rea...

The American playwright Eugene O'Neill said "There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now", the philosopher George Santayana, wrote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" while Karl Marx famously stated, "History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce". Of course the idea that ...

 A week before Christmas in 1968 I turned 21 and from that moment I was eligible to vote, which ironically was around the time Parliament began making plans to reduce the voting age to 18. My first time I could vote was in the May 1969 local elections, I went to vote with my dear old dad in the local church hall and, as I did for many years af...

Divorce law plays a direct role in shaping how families reorganise after separation. Legal rules determine who lives where, how finances are divided, and how responsibilities continue over time. These decisions do more than settle disputes. They define how families function going forward. Clear legal guidance helps reduce uncertainty during a perio...

One of the many organizations I have signed up to receive e-mail updates, recently got itself into a bit of a tizzy about our health and our air quality, it gave a link to yet another Government consultation, this time on the sale and use of wood burning and solid fuel stoves. Sadly, when Boris Johnson went bonkers with his green crusade with insan...

There are two reasons why I have titled this article "Green and Dirty", the first being the fact that those who push through many so-called green objectives, instead of cutting pollution, by their allegedly green actions actually increase pollution. All you have to do to see this in action is to have a look at areas where councils have introduced s...

.In 2026, in any civilised country, Atefeh Sahaaleh should be thirty-seven years old, perhaps a successful career woman, or maybe a mother, yet it was her misfortune to have been born into Iran, a nation dominated by primitive, medieval brutes, whose interpretation of their religion dictates that women are to be treated as vastly inferior to men, a...

By Derek Bennet & Michael Wood  News of Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor's arrest due to his links to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison accused of paedophilia and other related crimes, has potentially done great damage to our Monarchy. With the loss of our wonderful Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th September 2022, who's reign spanned 70 years...

In the short time he has (unfortunately) been our Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has managed to acquire quite a good collection of nicknames. They range from: 'The nasal knight', 'Free gear Keir', 'Starmer the farmer harmer' and 'Never here Keir', which is quite appropriate as he has spent a large part of his Premiership out of the country. His l...

Despite the best efforts of clinicians, the weight of bureaucracy is rendering the NHS unable to function. Doctors are obliged to waste time filling in endless documents, while staff are subjected to constant nonsense from that non profession HR. Apparently endless numbers of so-called managers appoint each other to obscenely well paid posts, while...

Recent events have made me think of two quotes from the past, Harold Wilson's "A week is a long time in politics", and "The World turned upside down" from an English ballad of the English Civil War. There are many reasons why I consistently supported Trump's reelection: the war on waste, the reining in of the various bureaucratic groups who overrod...

In my previous article, kindly published on this Bruges Group site, I wrote about and reproduced the letter I sent to Prime minister Starmer with my total opposition to the introduction of digital I.D. cards, which I see as a tool of the police state. I also mentioned that I had not received a reply to my letter, which was sent immediately Starmer ...

The wonderful Spike Milligan titled his book in which he wrote about his time serving in the army during WWII: 'Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall'. As a young man I read this and other books by him, as a lad growing up with the Goon Show on the wireless I loved his irrelevant humour, so in honour to him, I have decided to show the letter I wrot...

By Gully Foyle author of "75 Brexit Benefits: Tangible Benefits from The UK Having Left The European Union"  on sale now at Amazon The British Public are United More Than We Believe – For National Sovereignty In early August of this year, the usual pro-EU outlets and speakers were yet again all over the media with their latest p...

The trouble with most modern radio alarms, which we have beside our beds to wake us in the morning, is the fact they are too quiet for those of us with deafness and tinnitus in one of our ears. The thing can be buzzing away like merry, and we slumber on regardless. They, sadly, do not wake us in the mornings and the reason we do wake up is thanks t...

By Gully Foyle author of "75 Brexit Benefits: Tangible Benefits from The UK Having Left The European Union" BUY at AMAZON When I started to write my book back in October/November 2024, one of the things I kept hearing time and time again was that there was no useful reference material for pro-Brexit advocates to refer to, no single place ...

The year 2025 came to a close with another massive show of force against Taiwan by its aggressive and combative neighbour, China. Acting under the orders of its megalomaniac president for life, Xi Jinping, PLA forces (army, navy and air force) demonstrated their strength to an embattled island nation of 23 million people which has endured years of ...

Although I can clearly recognise the malevolent agendas of the far left, I also frequently feel obliged to respond to letters in my local newspapers from those who are often sincere and well-meaning, but also incredibly naive. A number propose that we do not arm ourselves in the face of the threats presented by our enemies, but instead rely upon di...

There are few greater examples of the long-term failings of the European Union, than the EU-Mercosur trade deal negotiations. When you spend 25 years trying to negotiate a trade deal, only to have the end product mired in controversy and likely to be refused by EU member states, you know you have a problem. In June of 2019, before the UK had been a...

Those of my generation may very well remember the hit song 'Three steps to Heaven' by Eddie Cochran, released in 1960. Now however I believe that we face three steps to Hell which, if they are taken by our society, will see the total destruction of the right to privacy, and make it impossible for anyone to live a quiet, anonymous life free of super...

Much ink has been spilt in recently over what would have happened to the economy if Britain had voted to remain. For all the publicity this has generated, this question is purely academic. As fans of 90's films Sliding Doors and The Butterfly effect can attest, when you make even one tiny change to your starting conditions, what comes next is total...

The recent revelations about the behaviour of the BBC in relation to Donald Trump are merely the tip of the iceberg, and those of us who have been pointing out the blatant bias shown by this organisation over many years have been totally vindicated. It is alarming that BBC lies have angered the leader of our greatest ally, putting our alliance at r...

The failure of so many to know the facts of history has had pernicious effects on events through many centuries, and very much today. In mediaeval times England behaved in the same manner as much of Europe in persecuting Jewish people, for example in 1189 and 1190, when violent anti-pogroms erupted in London and York, with a massacre at the latter'...

There's more than a good chance I have told this old joke here before, it was told to me by my father when I was a lad after visiting 'Speakers Corner' in Hyde Park. A Socialist speaker, standing on his soap box addressing the gathered throng shouted out: "When my party is in power you will all have lots of money". A little chap at the back of the ...

There's no doubt about it, it's head scratching time again. Once more it's time to give the old cranium a going over with the digits in wonderment at the news put out, enthusiastically by the BBC, that the Met Office has declared the summer of 2025 to be the hottest ever since records began. Somehow or other, the real hottest summer for many of us ...

In the face of lies, ignorance, and abuse, those of us who recognised the essentially undemocratic nature of the EU, and the path down which it was leading us towards bureaucratic dictatorship persevered, and eventually, in the 2016 referendum, we triumphed. Of course since then those who desire control by Brussels bureaucrats to governance by our ...

Remember the Rwanda plan? This was, as we all know, the then Conservative Government plan to stop the armada of rubber dinghies crossing the Channel full of illegal immigrants who, by destroying all their I.D. on the way here, committed an illegal act and thus made themselves criminals rather than genuine asylum seekers. Sadly, despite being loosel...

We are delighted that Facts 4 EU have given us permission to republish this vitally important research https://facts4eu.org/news/2025_nov_vote_control Here is the future the UK escaped, as Commission starts to take over elections in member countriesWith new autocratic power grab, the thought of a totalitarian bloc on our doorstep is chill...

There is no question that the House of Windsor feels under pressure, and rightly so. Our monarchy has lost sight of its historic underpinning based on the 1689 Bill of Rights, the too-often overlooked settlement of the governance of England following the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688." While people seem to know about Magna Carta and invariably...

Personally, I am wary of making the case for Brexit based on the Brexit wins that have already been made, such as niche trade statistics. The reason is that, for most British people, life has got considerably worse since 2016. They are poorer, sicker, more anxious and less safe than a decade ago. That is not to say Brexit is to blame. However, the ...

Labour positioned itself as a party of technocrats, but the small boats deal shows they have no clue what they're doing, writes Eliot Wilson  Last week, the Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, concluded between the UK and France in July, came into force. It is the government's latest attempt to tackle the number of migrants cros...

It was, from what I gather, George Bernard Shaw who made the famous quote that "Youth was wasted on the young". Now I am in the later years of my life and look back I can see how I wasted my youth, although I must admit to having a good time spending my earnings on booze and sports cars. It was not until I was married and into my thirties, when wor...

Wednesday, 16th July 2025 6.30pm until Late  The Speakers;   Andrew Griffith MPShadow Secretary of State for Business and TradeRichard Tice MPDeputy Leader of Reform UKRoger BootleChairman of Capital Economics&Professor Tim Congdon CBELeading economic commentator will discuss immigration and Britain's position in the world Speakers wi...

For those of us who were born and grew up in days when freedom of speech and debate on topics were considered a fundamental right, and a proud part of British democracy, who are these days are saddened and dismayed as these once inalienable freedoms are being dismantled, one by one. We live in despair and frustration watching the actions of those d...

The Conservative Party's Moment of Reckoning Today, the Conservative Party faces the real prospect of extinction. After years of broken promises and internal psychodrama, public trust has collapsed. In both national and local elections, voters have overwhelmingly turned their backs on us. The 2024 General Election saw tactical voting on an unpreced...

Rebuilding Britain's Future Through Duty, Discipline, and Shared Purpose Britain is coming apart at its seams. Our social fabric is fraying, our political discourse is increasingly extreme, and many young people no longer feel pride in their country. Against this backdrop, the idea of National Service — recently dismissed as outdated — deserves a s...

By  Christopher Gill As a Christian and also as a fervent believer in the vital importance and inestimable value of free speech I am more than a little concerned about the prospect of legislation being introduced to give Islam protections that are not enjoyed by any other religion in modern Britain. In point of fact the common law offences of ...

 There was a wonderful moment at the one and only Referendum Party conference, held over one day in Brighton during October 1996. This was my first ever political conference, I was there with my wife, Linda, and feeling very proud of myself as I had literally been selected as a Referendum Party Parliamentary candidate three days prior to the c...

 According to the UK Met Office in 2025 we experienced the coldest January temperatures for 15 years. I wonder how much colder it has to get to satisfy the Greenies among us. Our national news media have been claiming that 2024 was the hottest year on record and that it was over 1.5 degrees C above the pre industrial norms. How accurate is thi...

SUPPORT NICK TIMOTHY'S BILL TO STOP BLASPHEMY LAWS BY THE BACK DOOR  Last week a banner was raised in Parliament, signifying the beginning of a fightback, against the government's manic concern over "Islamophobia". Nick Timothy MP (Con.), presented a Bill to amend the Public Order Act so that freedom for any criticism, even harsh, derisory and...

Applications have opened for the position of a chief engineer in a highly technical post in the aerospace industry, those applying need specialist knowledge of all aspects of the industry and vast experience in how to get these highly specified projects underway, including how to create new innovations in this specialist work. So how should the bes...

 To paraphrase a saying from the Second World War, when some citizens seemed blissfully ignorant: 'there's a revolution on, you know!' Throughout my lifetime there has been no major war, but by stealth there has been a radical overturning of conventional society and its institutions and norms. This has now reached a Woke crescendo, and in Orwe...

 The ex-Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, despite 11 years working for Elf, the French petro-chemicals giant, increasingly turned against the use of fossil resources. He described Prince (now king) Charles as a 'prophet- for voicing anti-plastic concerns. However, the late and much-admired Queen Elizabeth offered a fine example. Her staf...

A Front Row Seat at the End of History  c FreedomPut simply, A Front Row Seat at the End of History is a collection of essays by academics Michael (M.L.R) Smith and David Martin Jones, most written collaboratively, over the course of a quarter of a century. It spans topics from international relations, Brexit and the decline of the West, to th...

K J Millard, author of 'Charlie and the Spitfire', released this week on 7th May, talks of her experiences of growing up with her grandparents' memories of the Second World War.  I was born in an era when the tumultuous events of the Second World War were still, very much, living memory. Sunday afternoons would always be shared with my grandpa...

 In a world increasingly dominated by technology, materialism, and the relentless march of "progress," ancient myths often seem relegated to the realm of children's stories or outdated superstitions. Yet, James Sale's Gods, Heroes, and Us challenges this dismissal with a resounding assertion: Greek myths are not only relevant today, but they o...

 t's always the little things that make you stop and wonder. For me, it was the moment in the 1980s when the noble, dignified two tone klaxon of British emergency vehicles began its tragic extinction, replaced by the unhinged wailing of electronic sirens straight out of an American cop show. Supposedly, these newfangled noisemakers were better...

By Michael Rainsborough Reading Between the Lies   So, what does my SAR file expose about 'them'—and the entire mess? If you're determined enough to dig, there are some nuggets of truth buried under layers of nonsense. It's essentially like discovering the draft of a painfully bad novel: a lot of cringe-worthy drivel that only underscores...

By Michael Rainsborough   The Rise of the Dark Lord Had the Free Speech Union had been around back then, I would, no doubt, have stormed in with lawyers, righteous indignation and the soundtrack of Rambo (First Blood, not the later lesser movies). When I spoke with the Dean again the following week, I reiterated my disagreement with his facile...

By  Michael Rainsborough But I am mulling over of the idea of the GDR as an article of faith. Communism, at least of the East German variety, was a closed system of belief. It was a universe in a vacuum, complete with its own hells and heavens, its punishments and redemptions meted out right here on earth. Many of the punishments were simply f...

 There is an obvious clash of which one of two objectives will, inevitably, have to give way as neither can survive side by side. The two objectives are the continuous push for growth from both businesses and Governments and protecting the environment, only one can win. If growth wins this means populations will have to continuously rise, resu...

The EU has been busy making announcements on defence funding and Ukraine, so it would appear that the EU wanted to do these announcements first and allow Kubilius's programme to be a footnote. It is convenient for the EU to do it in this order as the EU would have appeared rather introspective if it had done Kubilius's mostly internally-focussed pa...

The Conservative Party is still in crisis despite the deep unpopularity of the relatively new Starmer-led Government and of himself and some of his chief ministers. The Opposition should be riding high and scoring points easily, but such was the deep disenchantment with the last Conservative government that led to loyal party members and activists ...

 he EU's shadow borrowing has continued to increase, and rapidly. That is the message given by this high-level update by Bob Lyddon, international banking expert and author of 'The shadow liabilities of EU Member States, and the threat they pose to global financial stability', which was published by The Bruges Group in 2023 and used year-end 2...

Despite being a lifelong pessimist and sceptic even I am astounded at how quickly has the Labour Party broken promises, and alarmed at their attack on free speech, and even free thought, in this country. The government, led by a humourless, robotic lawyer and bureaucrat, has empowered the Blob which dominates so much of our public services, made cl...

What's the best way to destroy a project? The simple answer is to put a person or persons in charge who hate and are totally opposed to that project—that way failure is assured. From the 1st February 2020, the very first day Britain was officially set free from the EU's bureaucratic clutches, there were claims that Brexit was not working even befor...

Ariane Loening's Inquiry is detailed in her book published by the Bruges Group. It is available on Amazon In this article Ariane describes the background to her work. I started to investigate the issue of rural Bengali women's disadvantage after living in West Bengal for several years, having learnt Bengali and qualified and practised in rural area...

Disastrous. Shortsighted. Checkered. Incomplete. Bloody. Failure. These are just a handful of the words used to described U.S. Foreign Policy under former President Joe Biden's administration. The military withdraw from Afghanistan resulting in needless death, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the bolstering of rhetoric from China, the temporary pie...

Kevin's leg, or lack of a leg, is currently the big topic of discussion in the Lyndon where we go for a lunchtime pint and chat with friends. Kevin, who is the youngest of our group, has been having problems for a few years. First it was decided, after various treatments by his medics, that he needed a partial amputation of his foot, then in recent...

This article written by Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic's Environment Editor. is reproduced with permission https://dailysceptic.org/2025/01/21/mps-to-consider-bill-likely-to-cause-mass-starvation-death-disease-and-societal-collapse-in-near-future/ This Friday, January 24th, the UK Parliament is due to vote on a Private Member's Bill that could...

.According to the Met Office we have just experienced the coldest January temperatures for 15 years. I wonder how much colder it has to get to satisfy the Greenies among us. Our national news media have been claiming that 2024 was the hottest year on record and that it was over 1.5 degrees C above the pre industrial norms. How accurate is this clai...

 Many of the comments on last week's Budget have pointed out that taxes, already very high, are being pushed higher, and that government borrowing, also very high, is being pushed higher still. Some commentators are asking – not for the first time – whether the British economy can absorb this amount of taxation and government borrowing, or whe...

The mortar is the global south. Ironically for all its anti-colonialist rhetoric and claim to speak for the global south, an empire ('of free trade' at least) appears to be under construction, or an unequal association with eventually its own currency and foreign policy. Of particular concern is the presence of the China, Russia, Iran axis at the t...

In 2025, the Starmer Government will place the UK under EU rule in the key policy areas of foreign affairs and defence A December 2024 headline states: 'EU leaders warn Trump it's bad timing for a Ukraine deal'. Subsequent headlines have said the same - the EU is actually seeking to dissuade the US from ending the Ukraine war. Why would they do thi...

The Olympic games have begun and the first event, a race has been run, then, much to the dismay of the gathered throng of observers in the stands, the runner that came in last, who was way behind all the rest, is declared the winner and presented with the champions gold medal. How about when elections are held and the candidates with the least vote...

 Reason For The Study So, the disgraceful anti-British government of Kier 'two-tier'/ 'free-gear'/ 'flip-flop'/ 'sausage' appears to have declared war on the farming community. For those of us outside the London 'bubble' who follow politics, this has come as no surprise: after all, most farmers are rural (not urban) in outlook, based in rural ...

At a meeting on 12th November 2024 Suella Braverman had a Discussion with Frank Millard: this is a transcript. FM =Frank Millard SB Suella Braverman. FM: Thank you very much for your time Suella, it's our pleasure to be interviewing you. SB: Thank you for having me and for hosting this. It's great to be with friends and thank you for all the work y...

Here in rural England there has traditionally been a feeling that the Labour Party is the voice of a very metropolitan hostility and non-comprehension of the issues associated with 'the Countryside'. In truth possibly many Conservatives are little better informed, albeit their inherent instincts are not hostile to landowners. In the 1990's, BBC rad...

The bloc must tear up its post-Brexit script or risk letting the US swoop in and carry Britain awayby  Andrew Evans-Pritchard  If the EU seriously wishes to draw Britain closer into its commercial and political sphere, it will have to tear up the post-Brexit script and abandon the punitive pedantry of the last eight years. Otherwise it ri...

 1. The Labour Government intends to conclude a 'defence and security pact' ('The Pact') with the EU next year and the likelihood is 'almost certain'. No events which would prevent this pact are currently anticipated. The only factors which might delay or even prevent would be UK public outrage which would require public awareness and/or US Go...

 Yet another COP event and yet more insanity and hypocrisy, not least from our Prime Minister who, by promising his eco pals at the COP 29 event which, after most of the delegates flying in from all over the globe in their private jets, with tables groaning under the weight of expensive food and drinks, as well as all the hot air, these events...

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege for me to have this opportunity to present to the House the government's budget for the coming year. As the House will already know, our economy and government finances are in a desperate and sorry state. Over the past nearly 25 years we have suffered a series of setbacks that have enveloped us in a perf...

Yet again there are calls for wicked Britain to pay eye watering sums of money for its part in the slave trade, which considering, during well over a thousand years of this country's long history, our unfortunate part in this vile trade was only a small moment of that long and varied past. At the 2024 Commonwealth gathering in Samoa, there were dem...

Many waves of world revolution find their common beginning in the "shot heard 'round the world" on the April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord. An intellectual contagion would sweep through France (1789), Haiti (1804), and the rest of the American Hemisphere carrying the good news of the rights of man, modernity, and rationalism as opposed to obscu...

                              "The Truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it. Ignorance may deride it, malice may distort it, but there it is."  Winston S. Churchill, The Truth is Incontrovertible, (International Churchill Society; https://winstonchrchill.org/resou...

Lord Falconer's Assisted Dying Bill was submitted for its first reading within a few days (26 July) of the General Election. The Bill says it is to 'Allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards, to be assisted to end their own life; and for connected purposes.' If passed it will for the first time here legalise the deliberate killing ...

On October 3, Boris Johnson shared with The Telegraph his assessment that Donald Trump would have stopped Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine—a striking indictment of the current leadership vacuum in Washington under Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Johnson's claim should be a clarion call to any American voters who care about the West's geopolitical ...

There was an irony that at the exact time both the last UK coal fired power station and the Port Talbot steelworks closed, the timing aligned exactly with the completion of my twelve months of temperature readings which I have been taking daily. After experiencing a pretty cold and miserable summer when most of August 2023 hardly got over 60f, I wa...

We are in the second stage of Blair reforms. The dark shadow of the former PM hangs over the new Labour administration. This Blairite legacy was always about 'constitutional reform', Supreme Court, devolved powers and field sports were their aspiration. It was something to excite the Labour membership's turgid mentality. Now in 2024 with a big Comm...

 When I wrote the article: 'How to destroy a country' for this esteemed blog, I meant it to be seen as a warning. Sadly, from their actions, it appears our Labour Government have used it as an instruction manual, they have taken the art of wrecking this nation to frightening new heights. During the run up to the July 4th general election Sir K...

The typical employee's wage slip is something of a con. Here's how it works. For earnings between £12,570 and £50,270 p.a. there are deductions of income tax at 20%, employee NIC at 12% but an additional 13.8% NIC is paid by the employer. If someone on the average salary of c. £33,000 a year gets a raise of £1,000 the worker pays £320 in tax/NIC an...

There is a widespread misconception that in order to deal with the problem of illegal migration into the UK by migrants arriving on inflatable boats the UK has to withdraw from membership of the European Convention on Human Rights [ECHR]. Whilst withdrawing from the Convention is unnecessary, what is necessary is ensuring UK Courts do not have to f...

Lord Mandelson is said to be behind the gifted-clothes hoo-ha about Lord Alli, the PM and his wife. Nonsense: this is Hamlet without the Prince. Casey Michael in the Mail on Sunday says that Tony Blair 'is offering extensive advice to Sir Keir Starmer behind the scenes.' Alastair Campbell, too - maybe Ali was behind Starmer's headline-catching visi...

Starmer's government has saddled up for a full Parliamentary session but the question of Labour's legitimation remains. This is not merely a new administration but one with a comprehensive socialist plan it wishes to implement. The potential impact of 'Golden' Brown's grand strategy on our constitutional arrangements is arguably far greater than th...

Sir Keir Starmer appears to be neither economically nor politically astute. Economics: the vote only just passed to abolish the Winter Fuel Payment except to those on Pension Credit may end up as a net cost to the Treasury. John Redwood tweeted beforehand 'Removing the fuel allowance from many low income pensioners will boost numbers on Pensioner C...

 I know the dangers of forming political opinions with a barman over a cold beer. I was in France's Perigord, normally a tourist hotspot. The mill-leat outside was busy with gushing water in stark contrast to bar trade. The barman told me that the season was catastrophic after such a wet early summer, then the French elections, European footba...

The Conservative Party has not had much luck in choosing leaders. The first to be elected by ballot, rather than appointed, was Edward Heath and we can debate how successful that choice was for national sovereignty or otherwise another time. The most recent term of Conservative government contains the stream of ineffective leaders the Party did not...

Very few people would have heard of the obscure American politician, Dick Tuck, but many may remember his famous quote after he lost the 1962 Senate Primary election, he said: "The people have spoke - the ba….d's". Those who follow political history will know that all Labour Governments are bad, they tax and regulate far too much and always end up ...

"I beg your pardon," they never promised us a rose garden, but they did. The new Labour government is unravelling and blaming it on everyone but themselves, but mostly on the last government, the members of which seem strangely silent for an Opposition whose job it is to oppose. 'Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party'. Th...

In today's interconnected world, the concept of national sovereignty stands as both a proud declaration of independence and a complex puzzle in the face of global challenges. Sovereignty, the authority of a state to govern itself without external interference, is a foundational principle of international law and a core aspect of a nation's identity...